eprintid: 27202
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3730
dir: disk0/00/02/72/02
datestamp: 2019-09-27 14:05:40
lastmod: 2019-12-03 09:57:12
status_changed: 2019-09-27 14:05:40
type: workingPaper
succeeds: 26234
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Schmidt, Robert J.
title: Point beauty contest: measuring the distribution of focal points on the individual level
subjects: 330
divisions: 181000
keywords: coordination, focal points, games theory, strategic uncertainty, social norms
abstract: We propose the Point Beauty Contest, a mechanism to identify the distribution of focal points on the individual level. By contrast to conventional coordination, subjects coordinate by the distribution of points. This allows for nuanced coordination strategies, as subjects can invest in multiple alternatives at the same time and weigh their choice. A subject´s strategy choice then reveals her perception of the distribution of focal points. In an experiment on the elicitation of social norms, we compare the mechanism with conventional coordination. The data confirms the theoretical predictions regarding coordination behavior and demonstrates that the proposed technique is suited to identify the distribution of focal points on the individual level. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the proposed mechanism identifies focal points on the population level more efficiently than conventional coordination. We point to the possibility of using the mechanism as a simple method to directly measure strategic uncertainty.
date: 2019-09
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00027202
schriftenreihe_cluster_id: sr-3
schriftenreihe_order: 0667
ppn_swb: 1678115487
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-272022
language: eng
bibsort: SCHMIDTROBPOINTBEAUT201909
full_text_status: public
series: Discussion Paper Series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
volume: 0667
place_of_pub: Heidelberg
pages: 22
related_url_url: https://doi.org/10.11588/data/PA87NV
related_url_type: research_data
citation:   Schmidt, Robert J.  (2019) Point beauty contest: measuring the distribution of focal points on the individual level.  [Working paper]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/27202/1/Schmidt_2019_dp667.pdf